Today the state Board of Education announced its intention to adopt revised Alabama High School Graduation requirements, with state Superintendent Dr. Joe Morton stressing there is still plenty of time to discuss the proposal.
The board will not officially consider the proposal until May. As it stands, school systems could voluntarily implement the revised options beginning with this fall's freshman class, but the ninth-grade class at all high schools would see the revisions in place in 2009-10. However, a proposal that would require eligible general education and disabled 12th graders to pass three of the graduation exam's five sections would be effective this year (2007-08).
At the K-12 regular meeting, state board member Sandra Ray said she supports higher standards but would like there to be consideration of a two-year voluntary period to allow local systems more time to transition.
The state's high schoolers would need to complete at least one distance-learning course to graduate, unless the students have individualized education program committees that don't recommend it. The proposal includes academic flexibility that offers alternatives to "seat time" in a classroom. And with credit recovery, a student could get another opportunity to master a skill or content area without repeating the entire class or delaying graduation.
Two elements of the proposal seem to be generating the most questions: the credit-based diploma endorsement and having all students work toward the Alabama High School Diploma with the advanced academic endorsement, unless opted out by parents/guardians or IEP recommendation. The advanced academic endorsement calls for two credits in the same foreign language and the equivalent of Algebra II with trigonometry.
The Alternate Adult diploma, which is now awarded to eligible students who pass the GED, would be replaced by the Alabama High School Diploma with credit-based endorsement. These students would need to pass three of the state graduation exam's five sections, including reading and math. Currently, students must pass all five sections to get the Alabama High School Diploma.
Graduates could still earn the Alabama High School Diploma with or without endorsements and the Alabama Occupational Diploma.
Some concerns center on the implementation timeline, the costs associated with ensuring there are enough foreign language teachers and not having ACCESS labs in place at all high schools.
State Superintendent of Education Dr. Joe Morton gathered with superintendents and others in Prattville yesterday to discuss the revised graduation options. Board member Dr. Mary Jane Caylor was there. Caylor said today that she left Wednesday's meeting wondering if all systems are correctly implementing the state courses of study. Caylor reiterated Morton's view that the credit-based endorsement wouldn't retroactively apply to recent graduates who may have qualified for it. "We can certainly review that again," Morton said.
State board member Betty Peters said she appreciates the chance to discuss the issue in two more work sessions. The next work session will be March 27 in Montgomery.
The board, in other business, recognized retiring deputy superintendent Dr. Ruth Ash and accepted Morton's recommendation that the Alabama Math, Science and Technology Initiative Coordinator Steve Ricks be named director of AMSTI. The board also passed resolutions to approve the state career and technical education plan and to adopt the courses of study for technology education and for career and technical education.
2008 Education Summit
April 9 in Birmingham
Community involvement improves education, and that's the point the Spring Education Summit organizers hope to get across April 9 in Birmingham. The summit will feature an interactive discussion about the current status of education in Alabama and how to build community involvement in education improvement. Co-sponsors are the A+ Education Foundation, Mobile Area Education Foundation, Leadership Alabama and the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama. For more, visit www.leadershipal.org, e-mail La@leadershipal.org or call 334/265-2297.
Proud of your school system's math, science and debate programs? The state Department of Education is offering financial assistance to qualified teams and individuals in grades 9-12 to represent Alabama in national competitions. The total amount available is $40,000 for all three categories.
Applications must be submitted to the state Department and postmarked by April 1. The application must be completed by the local education agency acting on behalf of the sponsor of the team or individual desiring financial assistance to participate in a national competition. Chosen applicants will be notified by April 23.
Contact Carolyn Townsend at 334/353-5440 or ctownsend@alsde.edu for more.
